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In Spain the equivalent of "Ama de llaves" for a man is usually called "Mayordomo" (instead of Amo de llaves, though it is also correct but far less common). And those terms refers to the servant with more responsibilities in the house.
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JaviMar 6 '12 at 8:06

In Spain, "criada" is the same as "sirviente" (maybe "criada" has more negative connotations). "Lacayo" is used for those servants which went with the knights in the past. And "peón" is used for servants in building works. ("Peón" and "Lacayo" are not not negative in Spain).
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JaviMar 6 '12 at 8:13

@Javi interesting what you mention about lacayo and peón, in Latinamerica both are used in negative contexts. Someone that works in construction is referred to as obrero de la construcción or in Colombia are also called Rusos. Hugo Chávez, for instance, always use the words lacayo and peón to refer to the opposition in his country or elsewhere, supposedly because they follow either orders from the "Empire (USA)" or work for the CIA. As far as sirvienta, in Colombia is incredibly mean to use it as a synonym for empleada del servicio doméstico.
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IcarusMar 6 '12 at 11:50

@jrdioko Siervo is sort of an archaism in the sense that this word is found on very old texts (think of the Bible) to refer to what nowadays we would call empleado, obrero, etc. A siervo is more like a slave (esclavo) nowadays, which is why this word is found frequently in old literature. Have you heard someone say something like "Tengo 10 siervos trabajando para mi" when referring to people? If I hear someone referring to another person as siervo I would feel offended. If you read the word in a newspaper, for example, it's probably used in the context of 21st-century slavery.
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IcarusMar 6 '12 at 18:06